[T3] ECU mounting problems

[Daniel K. Du Vall]

How about a small or medium size C clamp (Steel type)? You could get a good squeeze on it with something like that. Some have good flat surfaces on both sides.

-----Original Message-----
From: type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org [mailto:type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org] On Behalf Of Jim Adney
Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2014 2:34 PM
To: type3 at vwtype3.org
Subject: Re: [T3] ECU mounting problems

On 3 May 2014 at 11:15, Jessica Chase wrote:

> My husband and I had to reseat the ECU in our '69 Squareback because 
> we were getting a water leak.

By far, the most common cause of a leak here is that the little clips on the underside of the ECU mount plate have not been hooked behind the body panel. Once these clips are properly in place, the 2 screws on top don't have to be very tight.

> When unscrewing the ECU from the body of the car, the screws loosened 
> pretty easily. When re-tightening the screws after reseating, they 
> would only tighten to a certain point before "clicking" and spinning. 
> Looks like the holes in the body of the car are stripped (no threads 
> left!) so we can only tighten the ECU down so much.

It's common for these holes to be stripped, largely because people try to overtighten them for one reason or another. The only good way to cure this is to do something that will push metal back in toward the center of those holes. I usually do this with a heavy flat piece of steel held behind the panel while I tap on the front, but Bob's suggestion to squeeze with vise grips sounds like it might work, too.

Then, don't get carried away when tightening those screws.

--
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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